Offering Retailers Reliable and Secure Access to Critical Business Intelligence to Enhance Customer Experience and Business Growth

(Hong Kong, 22nd August 2017) — Canon Hongkong and NTT Communications (NTT Com) announced today a partnership to launch a new Video Analytics Cloud Solution (VAS) that will reinforce and strengthen the retail market in Hong Kong by providing state-of-the-art digital technology that merchants need to hone their competitive edge and respond more quickly to market trends.

The new Video Analytics Cloud Solution is unique as it combines the best-in-class technologies of two global leaders - Canon’s advanced network camera technology and video analytics software, and NTT Communications’ robust and secure Enterprise Cloud services, to capture and deliver a high volume of business intelligence on a single platform, in real time with exceptional visibility, reliability and security.

Speaking of the collaboration, Mr. Shunichi Morinaga, President and CEO of Canon Hongkong Co., Ltd. said, “Canon is delighted to partner with NTT Communications, the global ICT solutions provider, to introduce a smart and reliable business solution for retailers in Hong Kong that will enable them to increase revenue as they face the dual challenges of increasing competition and an uncertain economic climate. We believe that real-time business intelligence can be a game changer for the Hong Kong market, especially in the retail industry.”

“In today’s lightning-fast marketplace, retailers are racing the clock every day to understand and respond to customers’ demand with increasing speed and agility. By offering the Canon’s Video Analytics Solution on our Enterprise Cloud, we provide Hong Kong retailers with secure access to critical business data and intelligence anytime, anywhere in a secure and flexible way. NTT Com’s top-tier data center infrastructure and network connectivity, has made us a reliable partner to both Canon and other retailers in delivering a fast and winning customer experience.” Mr. Hideaki Ozaki, President and CEO of NTT Com Asia said.

Market Potential

Studies show that the global video analytics market is expected to grow rapidly and will post a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of close to 34%¹ over the next few years, which translates to promising market potential in Hong Kong. A survey conducted by NTT Communications also revealed that 94%² of retailers and manufacturers in Hong Kong, Singapore and China planned to adopt new technologies to boost competitiveness, and big data intelligence is one of the critical enablers.

“The Canon Group has laid a solid foundation to tap into the new market. With Milestone Systems, the world’s leading open-platform video management software, and Axis Communications, the market leader in network video solutions, joining the Canon Group, we are looking at exciting opportunities in the network video solutions market,” Mr. Morinaga continued.

Business Intelligence on a Single Platform As and When Needed

The Canon network videos built-in with the latest developed video analytics — people counting, age and gender detection, and heat mapping — will deliver real-time intelligence on consumer behavior gathered across customer interaction touchpoints, and presented with easy-to-read reports in a single panel. All its data is hosted on NTT Com’s highly secure cloud and data center infrastructure in Hong Kong, and available through desktop and mobile devices.

The new Video Analytics Cloud Solution allows retail brands and department stores with centralized management and single- or multi-site shops to make timely decisions about dynamic staffing, hot products display and customized marketing campaigns to enhance customer experience on sales floors, which will lead to greater operation efficiencies and strategic planning and will drive revenue growth.

A Reliable, Secured and Agile Solution Delivered on the Cloud

The Video Analytics Cloud Solution is offered as a pay-as-you-go cloud solution, which reduces upfront investment costs as well as the total cost of ownership of IT equipment and data storage, and allows more flexible resource management to align with changing market conditions. This total managed solution from Canon and NTT Com will provide retailers with end-to-end service and support - from infrastructure, installation and deployment, analytic applications and software, to on-going support and troubleshooting.

“We look forward to opening up the video analytics market in Hong Kong with the new Video Analytics Cloud Solution in collaboration with NTT Com. The new Video Analytics Cloud Solution will support retailers’ needs for faster and more responsive business communications and will enhance sales opportunities,” Mr. Morinaga concluded.

The Canon Network Videos Range

As a global leader in imaging technologies, Canon realizes that a comprehensive network system solution requires sophisticated components such as video recording software and video analysis applications. We therefore welcome into Canon Group the Denmark-based Milestone Systems, a world-leading provider of open-platform video management software, and Axis Communications, a Swedish network video solutions provider with outstanding image processing technologies and over 90,000 sales partners worldwide. The new Video Analytics Cloud Solution offers one of the widest ranges of high performance network cameras and videos of excellent image quality, leading optics and image-processing expertise, and built-in intelligence functions to meet retailers’ needs.

The range consists of many ground breaking products, including ultra-telephoto cameras that capture images clearly even under super low light conditions, videos with up to 30x optical zoom for long distance views, and videos with the widest angle of view possible in order to minimize the number of cameras needed for any project. This not only saves installation costs but also saves on bandwidth and storage requirements.

About Canon Hongkong Company Limited
Canon Inc. (TSE:7751 / NYSE:CAJ) was founded in 1937 in Japan. Its predecessor, Precision Optical Instruments Laboratory, produced Japan's first 35 mm focal-plane-shutter camera “Kwanon” in 1934. Canon Inc. eventually expanded into the photocopying and printing industries, launching Japan's first plain-paper copier NP-1100 in 1970 and the world's first inkjet printer BJ-80 in 1985. Through the years, Canon Inc. has acquired in-depth experience in digital imaging product manufacturing, and research and development. It is a leader in the development of innovative products and holds the most technology patents in the imaging industry. Canon Inc. also makes a significant contribution to the promotion of photography. Today, Canon Inc. has a strong global presence and is one of the most important market players in the imaging, office and industrial product categories. As of 31 December 2016, Canon's global revenue was US$29.3 billion.

One of the company’s first offices in Asia, Canon Hongkong Co., Ltd. (CHK) was established in 1971. It is responsible for the sales, marketing and after-sales services for all Canon product lines in Hong Kong and Macau. CHK adheres to Canon’s corporate philosophy of “kyosei”, which encourages the company and its staff to participate in social, charitable and environmental activities in the community. CHK implements internationally-recognized management systems and has achieved ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 27001 (Canon Digital Production Center) and OHSAS 18001 certification. For more information about Canon Hongkong, please visit our website: www.canon.com.hk.

NTT Communications Enterprise Cloud
The Enterprise Cloud supports the enterprise transformation journey as a comprehensive platform for both traditional and cloud-native ICT. It is designed to enable businesses to enhance their infrastructure, with mission-critical system that requires a dedicated environment to meet the needs on performance and security. Backed by NTT Communications’ global data centres, network connectivity, it enables customers to seamlessly integrate hosted private cloud, multi-tenant cloud and co-location with SDN-based Layer2 network connectivity. Customers will be able to gain full visibility and governance of their ICT environment, including the Enterprise Cloud and third-party cloud services, through the Cloud Management Portal.